Tudor Rose
by WolfStar4
Summary: A murder at a California Renaissance Faire leads Jane to the young woman his daughter might have been. My first attempt at fanfic, please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: God Couldn't Save The Queen

Tudor Rose: A Mentalist Fanfic

Disclaimer: If I owned it, it would be an actual episode and not a fanfic.

Chapter 1: God Couldn't Save The Queen

Special agents Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt wove their way through the crowd of princesses, pirates, knights, and fairies until they reached the gate of the fairground. Renaissance Faire groupies weirded Rigsby out. As far as he was concerned, it was an effort to convince Dungeons and Dragons gamers and World of Warcraft players to meet, mingle, and spend money outside of a basement. He understood escapism, but these people looked like they had spent a fortune on chain mail, corsets, and swords, and were probably going to buy more on the other side of the gate. He sighed.

They flashed their badges, and as the gates opened slightly to let them in, the crowd surged forward. It was already more than an hour after the normal opening time, and they had already bought their tickets. Some started shouting something to the effect of how it wasn't fair these two people (in modern dress, no less!) were being admitted and not them.

Once inside the gates, however, it felt like another world. There were horses and trees and shops that looked like little thatched cottages. There were tents in brilliant colors and signs warning them to Beware of Dragons. Grace smiled in spite of herself. She had heard of these Renaissance Faires- there was one in Iowa, somewhere- but she had never been to one. The air had a sort of magic to it, electric with history and simplicity. She really would have to come back while not on the job. She mentioned it to Wayne, and he smiled and whispered softly, "Of course, milady… but only if you get a nice corset!"

The peaceful illusion of the past was shattered when they reached the scene. Police tape, flashing cameras, and a few people dressed as knights and ladies-in-waiting talking frantically on cell phones. The victim was lying on her back, dressed like… well, a queen, in purples and golds and a tiara. Her nose was caked with dried blood, and looked like it was broken. A large, brown, burnt-looking thing was protruding from her mouth. There was a distinct smell of barbeque.

The agents ducked under the tape and walked over to where Lisbon and Cho were talking with the coroner and a pair of staffers. The man wore a shirt with the Faire's logo on the front and "Staff" on the back. The other looked like a younger, female version of him, and was dressed as a pirate wench with ridiculously long feathers protruding from a tricorn hat. Jane was walking around the body, doing his usual observational once-over before the team did their traditional little brainstorm. Rigsby and Van Pelt joined him, not speaking. Upon closer look, the object in her mouth was revealed to be a turkey legg, the best-known piece of Renaissance Faire cuisine. But the odd thing was the meaty portion was sticking out- the bone end was in her throat. Grace gagged a bit. "Eww. That thing is entirely too big."

Lisbon and Cho finished, and walked over to the body, pirate wench in tow. Lisbon slipped into boss mode. "Alright. Vic is Alyce Shade. Obviously playing Queen Elizabeth. Coronor places death around 8 this morning, explaining why she was already dressed. Cause of death asphyxiation, the broken nose and clotted blood combined with the giant turkey bone down her throat. This…" she paused as she got whacked in the face by a pile of giant ostrich feathers as the wench turned her head. "Ahem. This is Kelly Copeland. She's an actress, but also a team leader for the main performance troupe, including Alyce. Her father, Jacob, runs the operation. We are standing on their property.

The young lady was obviously distraught, but she gave them a big cheesy smile and curtsied. "Kelly O'Kelley, gypsy princess and fortune-teller by day; Kelly Copeland, criminal justice major by night. In addition to being a team leader, I am also in charge of scheduling the shows and performances. So, what do you make of it…?"

Jane looked up finally, searching her face for something before he responded. "I'm more curious what YOU make of it. You look concerned about something. Care to share?"

"Alyce hated the turkey leggs. They totally creeped her out- she thought they were disgusting and would not talk to any patron who was eating one, which is a lot here. She gave many guests the cold shoulder because of it, but we play it off as her being something of a royal snob. That leads me to believe it's either a crime of revenge or a crime of opportunity. Either they purposely killed her with a turkey legg because she hated them, or that was what was there. She also looks like she has been dragged: her arms are in an odd position, and her slipper isn't all the way on. The arm position and lack of horsehair leads me to believe she was dragged by a human. However, I can't be totally sure where she was dragged from. I see twigs and straw, but those are pretty much everywhere here. I also see a few feathers in her hair meaning it came from the general direction of the falconers. However, strangulation is a relatively clean crime, so we won't have a blood trail to follow, and the pathways are paved, so we won't be able to see disturbances like we would if this was still dirt…" She trailed off and looked up at Jane as if embarrassed.

He smiled at her. "VERY good! I bet you're a very good fake fortune teller!" Lisbon had been listening to her description, and piped up, "Well, don't forget we still need to question you some more… what do you think, Jane?" Jane suddenly looked serious again. "She didn't do it.." Here Lisbon tossed one of her trademark "Really, Jane?" sighs and glares. "She is obviously upset. Alyce probably like a sister to her- their nails both have the same color polish…" "God Save the Queen's Nails," Kelly whispered, tears welling up again. "And if she was the murderer, she was a little too quick to tell us what she thought- the real murderer would have tried to mislead us or avoid the truth. She's fine, but she can help us. Unfortunately, this was a Queen God couldn't save."


	2. Chapter 2: Who Was She?

Disclaimer: If I owned it, this would be an actual episode and not a fanfic. Just sayin'.

Chapter 2: So, Who Was She?

They stood staring at the body a little longer. Finally, Kelly tore her gaze away, and muttered softly. "I suppose I should ask Jake what the next step is. It's already two hours past opening. If we are opening, I have to scrounge up a new Queen double-quick."

"I'll walk with you!" Jane volunteered a little too eagerly. Lisbon suddenly got a very worried look, which she tried to hide. Had he lied about thinking she wasn't guilty? What if she truly was dangerous? She did have a large sheathed sword on her hip, tied elaborately with a length of strong-looking red fabric.

"It's a peace cap, or peace tie." Kelly piped up. She had seen Lisbon's face. "All performers and patrons are required to keep their weapons tied or taped shut so nobody gets hurt. We use special weapons for stage combat and jousts that look identical, but are not sharpened. While this is a real sword, I would have to get another sword or a pair of scissors before I could get it open to stab him." Lisbon's face softened. "Okay, we'll make sure the body gets loaded, and we'll secure the perimeter. We need to detain all performers."

Kelly curtsied again, and turned (this time Lisbon was expecting the feathers, and ducked), marching briskly toward the far side of the village. Jane followed. They walked for a few minutes in silence before she spoke up.

"So, who was she?" Jane glanced over, finding her eyes searching him much in the way he had searched her.

"Who? Alyce?"

"No, who do I remind you of? You haven't stopped staring at me since we met, like you're almost trying to place me. The look in your eyes suggests someone you miss very much. Your over-enthusiasm at my answer earlier suggests a child, or maybe a special-needs adult, but I lean toward child. Our eyes are the same light blue, and our hair blonde, which you would have also noticed, signaling a relation. I'll say either a younger sister or a daughter, lost tragically and way too young."

Jane froze. Damn! She was almost as good as he was, if not better! She walked a few more paces before she turned to face him. But instead of looking ready for a duel, she merely showed understanding. She chuckled softly, "So, I take it you're also not used to meeting people like yourself either, huh?"

Jane stammered, not finding the words. She was REALLY good. "Later. I promise."

"Whenever," she responded nonchalantly, "But we should pick up the pace. What I wouldn't give for a golf cart right now." His breathing relaxed as he jogged to catch up with her speed-walking. The only sound between them was the occasional jingle of the bells and beads situated on her hips. They finally turned off the main road, and curved around the back of a row of shops. They finally reached a larger looking cottage next to a giant gap in the wall that surrounded the perimeter. It lead out to a giant parking lot, filled with RVs, horse trailers, cars, trucks, and golf carts.

"Employee parking, Normally, the gates close right before opening to maintain the illusion if anybody decides to wander down here. It's all about keeping the illusion best you can. We had to let the ambulance in, though."

They walked up the steps and she swung the door open, calling "Jake!"

"Why do you call him by his first name?"

She smiled the sad smile of somebody who had been asked a certain question many, many times. It obviously still broke her heart, even if she understood it.

"Only when working, which is pretty much all the time. It reduces the appearance of nepotism. Started when I was about 5 or so. Now, where is that man? Jacob Ryan Copeland, wither hast thou fled? Grrrrrr." She punctuated the growl by slapping the wall as she walked into an adjoining room.

Jane finally took a moment to look around. The walls were adorned with cast photos dating back to the beginning of the Faire. He found the one he was looking for, roughly 20 years prior. He searched the faces of the child actors in the photo. He found her- staring back at him was the very image of his own lost daughter, caught in a giggle.

His silent reflection was broken by a shriek, followed by a rhythmic thumping sound. He followed the thumps to find Kelly straddling her father, performing CPR, crying, begging him to come back. When calling him by his given name didn't work, she switched tactics. "Daddy! Daddy, come back to me! Don't leave me here by myself! Dad!"

Jane produced his cell phone, and pressed to dial the last number. "Lisbon…" he said sadly, "We have another body."


	3. Chapter 3: Rally The Troops

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, this would be an actual episode and not a fanfic. **

**Sorry I haven't updated, but I needed to get everything straight in my head before I continued, and I've had this weird thing called "work" interfering, too…**

**Plz 2 review?**

**Chapter 3: Rally The Troops…**

Patrick watched Kelly closely as they waited for the ambulance. After her outburst upon first finding her father and boss dead, she slipped back into the sad-yet-professional mode he had observed her in all day. He watched silently as she did something resembling a coroner's once-over; a slight softening of her expression led him to believe she felt her father had died naturally and was not murdered. She removed something from his neck before the ambulance arrived and sat at Jake's desk toying with it. Jane observed something copper on a long black cord, like two large, copper coins fashioned into pendants. And Jane just watched. And thought.

He found it amazing, really. This young woman was a dead ringer for his daughter. On top of that, she has skills to rival, if not surpass, his own. Then she violently loses two people very close to her in one day. But unlike him, she wasn't sure who ruined her life. Yet. And there was no anger. Yet. No desire for vengeance. Yet. She was dazed, confused, sitting at a desk staring at nothing while fidgeting with the coins on a string. And yet, he could sense the depths of those still waters. The wheels were turning. She was thinking a million miles a minute under that dazed look. Should they open today? Would they be okay to open next week? What would happen to the Faire? What would happen to her? Would she still be able to get her degree? Would she have to choose between the life she wanted and the life she'd always known? Could she run the Faire on her own?

Lisbon entered and stood eyeing the young woman suspiciously. She opened her mouth to speak; Jane motioned her to remain silent. Let the poor girl think, he willed. Lisbon's mouth gaped open and closed for a few moments like a fish struggling to come to terms with oxygen in the air when its body wasn't equipped for the process.

After a harrowing five minute eternity, Kelly suddenly spoke. "Rally the troops to the sound of the horn," she ordered no one in particular. She stood and started moving in a manner that Lisbon felt echoed the scene in Disney's version of "Sleeping Beauty", wherein Maleficent basically hypnotized Aurora to follow the light to the spinning wheel. If Jane had hypnotized this one, she really would kill him. There was an eerie ghostliness to her movements. However, she was speaking, repeating her cryptic line.

Kelly was moving like a dazed drunk hell-bent on doing something that, in that altered state, was perceived to be a matter of life or death. She rifled around with that ghostly grace until she uncovered that which she sought- a hollowed-out cow horn. As soon as she touched the horn, her spell was broken. She resolutely turned and bolted up the flight of stairs before Lisbon could process what had happened. Jane was much quicker, and followed closely at her heels. By the time Lisbon reached the room at the top of the stairs, Kelly was halfway out the window and Jane was nowhere to be found. Lisbon's two most natural reactions had a split second to argue- reach for the gun or reach for the girl. She opted for the second. She grabbed Kelly around the waist, only to discover Jane standing on the roof, offering her a hand out of the window. Kelly turned to Lisbon and very matter-of-factly stated, "Agent Lisbon, I assure you, grabbing me in this manner will not make Mr. Jane jealous. And I am pretty sure jealousy is not the best way to flirt with him." Lisbon had no choice but to let go, stunned by the young woman's frankness.

Jane helped Kelly hop down onto the roof, which, it turned out, was built with a flat platform overlooking a lot that, from above, obviously looked like it had seen a lot of traffic. Kelly prepared to blow the horn, explaining to Jane and Lisbon, "I am going to blow the horn and rally the workers. Everyone knows when they here this to come to this area. We do a kind of pep talk thing every day, psych ourselves up, resolve issues, share news and whatnot. So we'll call everyone together and start going about questioning… but I'm going to need a private moment before that with Gummy, Puppy, and Ris, okay?" "By all means," Lisbon responded, not totally sure what she meant, but going with it anyway. Kelly took a deep breath, and blew a low note on the horn for a long beat. She then cupped her hands around her mouth and, in a voice neither Jane nor Lisbon doubted carried to the front gates, shouted "Rally the troops to the sound of the horn!"

**Oh boy, this is getting interesting, isn't it? Reviews make me update more…**


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